Pines charter school parents pack town hall meeting calling on state for more money

Parents and students wait by a door trying to get in to the meeting held Monday… (Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel )

January 16, 2013|By Heather Carney, Sun Sentinel

PEMBROKE PINES — Nearly 1,000 parents said they'll push the state Legislature to dig up more money for schools until there is equal funding for the A-rated charter school system.

City officials called the meeting at Pembroke Pines Charter High School to ask parents, the School Board, Superintendent of Broward County Schools Robert Runcie, and the state Legislature to support a bill that shares tax dollars equally between traditional public school students and charter school students.

Numerous times throughout the meeting parents stood up in applause to show that they would urge legislators to support equal funding until they pass the bill.

"Education comes first," said Karlene Taylor, the parent of a first-grader and a sixth-grader in the Pines charter schools. "I'm not about to let our kids suffer because they want to play the party line." Taylor said she would go up to Tallahassee with a group of parents to lobby the Legislature for more money.

Without equal funding, city officials say the school system doesn't have enough money to operate and remain an A-rated school system. This year, the city used $1.3 million in reserves to make ends meet. Commissioners said they can't continue to deplete savings to cover costs to run the public charter schools.

The annual budget for the school system is about $47.5 million.

But the School Board said it won't support a bill that takes money away from the traditional public schools. Runcie said the traditional schools barely have enough money to pay for basic maintenance or to move students out of 1,400 trailers into regular brick and mortar classrooms.

None of the 5,600 Pembroke Pines students attend class in trailers.

"We've got to increase funding for all schools," said Runcie. "We can't pit neighbor against neighbor."

Pines officials argued that residents' school taxes pay only for traditional schools — not for the charter schools.

The city also recently lost a legal battle in the 4th District Court of Appeals that would have required the Broward County School Board to allocate a portion of its tax revenues to the charter system. The Jan. 9 ruling said the Legislature — not the court — must decide how tax dollars should be used.

Many parents at Monday's meeting said they're afraid the school system could be shut down or sold without more funding.

"If every parent here writes one email, makes one phone call to let [legislators] know we stand for our children … We'll let our voices be heard," said Cary Alfonso, parent of an elementary school student in the Pines charter schools.

The city will hold an additional town hall meeting Jan. 28 with state representatives. The state legislative session begins in March.